It is arguably the most important address the governor has given in years and it will be parsed by those speculating about the possibility of O'Malley's own presidential campaign in 2016. In an interview Monday night as he moved between events in Charlotte, O'Malley said he was honored to give "short remarks" at the convention.

O'Malley will setup keynote speaker Julian Castro, the mayor of San Antonio.

"I hope to lay out some of the themes of this upcoming choice in this campaign, the importance of moving forward and not back," O'Malley said outside a reception for a political action committee focused on Hispanic issues. "We've made a lot of progress and we need to continue to move forward."